Tray-chair



UNITED STATES PATENT Orrcn.

WILLIAM B. PIERCE, OF ASHBURNHA-M, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO S. 4BENT & BROTHERS, OF GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS.

TRAY-CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 377.720. dated February '7, 1888- Application filed September 21, 1886. Serial No. 214,132. (No model.)

.To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. PIERCE, of Ashburnham, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Childrens Tray- Ohairs, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specilication.

This invention is designed to simplify, cheapen, and improve that class of chairs having a removable Ltray extending from arm to arm in front` of the seat. My special object is to provide by means of a spring for the considerable variation in Width which existsin such chairs, and yet to make the attachment convenient and the support most rm.

My invention consists in the combination, with the chair and tray, of a pivoted bracket, a spring to actuate it, and a catch to engage it.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a chair with my improvement applied to it in a simple form. Fig. 2 is afront view of the same, illustrating the -provision made for variations in width.

A represents the arm of the chair, land B a bracket having at its lower edge cylindrical journals J, entering staples, screw-eyes, or other suitable bearings, C, so that the bracket may be swung up into the Working position (shown in full lines) or dropped down on its pivots, as indicated in dotted lines. I nd the location of the bearings on the arm and on one of the spindles illustrated in Fig. 1 to be very convenient in practice.

D represents the tray, which in use rests upon the straight upper edge of the bracket, and has a headed pin, E, or other suitable catch projecting from its outerend or lower face, so as to engage in a notch or recess and against a shoulder, F, in the edge of th'e bracket when the parts are brought into proper position. The opposite end of the-tray is conne'cted temporarily or permanently to the other arm by any ordinary means.

G is a spring, shown as coiled around one of the journals o f the bracket, and having an arm extending up along the side of the chairarm to enter a socket, H, or other fastening.

The other extremity of the spring is behind the body of the bracket, so that tension is applied to the spring on turning up the bracket into working position, and this tends to swing the bracket outwardly on its pivots and to hold its notched edge in elastic engagementv with the catch E on the tray, the catch standing normally just outside of the plane of the raised bracket. (See Fig. 2.) Thus variations in length of trays or spread of arms serve to hold the bracket more or less nearly vertical. This -variable engagement of the parts does not affect the firmness with whichthe tray is held, since the strains of use come in a direction at right angles to that inwhich Vthe spring yields, and since the bearings O and journals J of the bracket afford abroad support for it.

v It is obvious that the position of the parts might be substantially reversed-placing. the bracket on the tray and the catch on the chairarm, for instanceand also that the form of the spring and bracket may be changed. Hence I do not limit my improvement to the particular arrangement shown in the illustrations.

I am aware of the patents to Bent, No. 256,272, dated-April 11, 1882, and No. 317,707, dated May 12, 1885, and of the patent to Paine, No. 318,131, dated May 19, 1885, and I make no claim to the inventions therein set forth; but

I claim as my invention- A'chair provided with an arm, A, and a tray7 D, connected at one end movably to said arm and having a locking-catch at its other end, in combination with the supportingbracket B, pivoted in bearings on the chairarm, and with an actuating-spring, G, applied to said bracket to hold itin variable engagement with the tray-catch, substantially asset l WILLIAM B. PIERCE.i Witnesses:

JULIAN P. DUNN, FRANCIS L. WHITTEMORE. 

